Shake things up at your next dinner party by serving everything plant-based. Starting with this roasted beetroot carpaccio, your guests won't miss their meat.
This playful yet elegant plant-forward take on carpaccio blends earthy beets (both cooked and raw) with a spice mix reminiscent of pastrami and a silky nut cream. It’s balanced with peppery nasturtium leaves and an orange juice vinaigrette.
Ingredients
Hazelnut cream
Spiced pepper mix
Method
1.Preheat oven to 160˚C fan-forced. Wrap each beetroot in baking paper then foil; place on a tray and roast until tender (50 minutes – 1 hour). Cool slightly, then peel.
2.For hazelnut cream, place hazelnuts in a small bowl; cover with 150ml boiling water and set aside until cooled to room temperature (15 minutes). Transfer soaked hazelnut mixture and remaining ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth; season to taste. Set aside at room temperature until required.
3.For spiced pepper mix, dry-roast fennel seeds and black peppercorns in a small frying pan over medium-high heat until fragrant (1 minute). Transfer to a mortar and pestle; add pink peppercorns and coarsely grind. Stir in thyme and ½ tsp sea salt.
4.Place oil, vinegar, orange zest and juice in a sealed jar and season to taste; shake well to combine.
5.Thinly slice roasted and target beetroot using a mandolin.
6.Spoon hazelnut cream over a platter, top with roasted and raw beetroot, drizzle with orange dressing and scatter with pepper mix, nasturtium leaves and society garlic flowers.
Target beetroot is available from select greengrocers.